TITLE 2: Article 124-133: Criminal Law II Review Notes - Revised Penal Code

CRIMINAL LAW II (Article 124-133) Reyes, 2012, Arellano University School of Law aiza ebina/2014
TITLE TWO: CRIMES AGAINST THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THE STATE

*these crimes violate certain provisions of the Bill of Rights (Art. III, 1987 Constitution)

CHAPTER ONE: Arbitrary Detention or Expulsion, Violation of Dwelling, Prohibition, Interruption, And
Dissolution of Peaceful Meetings and Crimes against Religious Worship

Section One: ARBITRARY DETENTION AND EXPULSION

Classes of Arbitrary Detention

1) Arbitrary detention by detaining a person without legal ground (124)
2) Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities (125)
3) Delaying release (126)

*Right to Liberty

The penalties for the three classes of arbitrary detention are the same, as provided in Article 124.

Art. 124. Arbitrary detention. Any public officer or employee who, without legal grounds, detains a
person, shall suffer;

1. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period,
if the detention has not exceeded three days;
2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if the detention has
continued more than three but not more than fifteen days;
3. The penalty of prision mayor, if the detention has continued for more than fifteen days but not
more than six months; and
4. That of reclusion temporal, if the detention shall have exceeded six months.

The commission of a crime, or violent insanity or any other ailment requiring the compulsory
confinement of the patient in a hospital, shall be considered legal grounds for the detention of any
person.

ELEMENTS

1) Offender is a public officer or employee
2) He detains a person
3) Detention is without legal grounds

The public officers liable for arbitrary detention must be vested with authority to detain or order the
detention of persons accused of a crime, but when they detain a person they have no legal grounds
therefor. Private individuals who conspired with public officers in detaining a person are guilty of
arbitrary detention. (accomplice, accessory or principal by inducement/indispensable cooperation)

Examples:

1) Policemen and other agents of the law

2) Judges
3) Mayors
4) Barangay captain
5) Municipal councilor

ILLEGAL DETENTION if detention is perpetrated by other public officers because they are acting in
their private capacity.

- If offender is a private individual (Illegal Detention Article 267-268)

DETENTION actual confinement of a person in an enclosure, or in any manner detaining and depriving
him of his liberty. A person is detained when he is placed in confinement or there is a restraint on his
person.

WITHOUT LEGAL GROUNDS occurs when,

1) The person detained has not committed any crime, or, at least, there is no reasonable ground
for suspicion that he has committed a crime
2) The person detained is not suffering from violent insanity or any other ailment requiring
compulsory confinement in a hospital

Therefore, the LEGAL GROUNDS for the detention of any person are

1) The commission of a crime
2) Violent insanity or any other ailment requiring compulsory confinement of the patient in a
hospital

ARREST WITHOUT WARRANT usual cause of arbitrary detention

A peace officer must have a warrant of arrest properly issued by the court to justify an arrest. If there is
no warrant of arrest, the arrest of a person by a public officer may constitute arbitrary detention.

LAWFUL ARREST WITHOUT WARRANT

A peace officer or private person may, without a warrant arrest a person:

1) When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is
attempting to commit an offense (flagrante delicto or immediately thereafter)
2) When an offense has in fact just been committed, and he has probable cause to believe based
on personal knowledge of facts and circumstances that the person to be arrested has
committed it (flagrante delicto or immediately thereafter)
3) When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment or
place where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confines while his case is pending, or has
escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another (continuous act of
committing a crime evading the serving of his sentence)

IN HIS PRESENCE when the officer sees the offense being committed, although at a distance, or
hears the disturbance created thereby and proceeds at once to the scene thereof, or when the offense

is continuing or has not been consummated at the time the arrest is made, the offense is said to be
committed in his presence.

PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF FACTS must be based upon probable cause, which means an actual
belief or reasonable grounds of suspicion in arrests without a warrant

PROBABLE CAUSE such facts and circumstances which could lead a reasonable discreet and prudent
man to believe that an offense has been committed and that the object sought in connection with the
offense are in the place sought to be searched. It must be within the personal knowledge of the
complainant or the witness he may produce and not based on mere hearsay. (not same as suspicion)

The crime of arbitrary detention can be committed through imprudence.

PERIODS OF DETENTION WHICH THE LAW PENALIZES

1) If the detention has not exceeded 3 days
2) If the detention has continues more than 3 days but not more than 15 days
3) If the detention has continued more than 15 days but not more than 6 months
4) If the detention has exceeded 6 months

PENALTY, respectively

1) ARRESTO MAYOR in its maximum period (1 month and 1 day to 6 months) to PRISION
CORRECCIONAL (6 months and 1 day to 6 years) in its minimum period
2) PRISION CORRECCIONAL in its medium and maximum periods (6 months and 1 day to 6 years)
3) PRISION MAYOR (6 years and 1 day to 12 years)
4) RECLUSION TEMPORAL (12 years and 1 day to 20 years)

Art. 125. Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities. The penalties
provided in the next preceding article shall be imposed upon the public officer or employee who shall
detain any person for some legal ground and shall fail to deliver such person to the proper judicial
authorities within the period of; twelve (12) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by light
penalties, or their equivalent; eighteen (18) hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by correctional
penalties, or their equivalent and thirty-six (36) hours, for crimes, or offenses punishable by afflictive
or capital penalties, or their equivalent.

In every case, the person detained shall be informed of the cause of his detention and shall be
allowed upon his request, to communicate and confer at any time with his attorney or counsel.

ELEMENTS

1) The offender is a public officer or employee
2) He has detained a person for some legal ground
3) He fails to deliver such person to the proper judicial authorities within
a) 12 hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent
b) 18 hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by correctional penalties, or their equivalent

c) 36 hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their
equivalent

If the offender is a private person, the crime is illegal detention, not arbitrary detention.
SHALL DETAIN ANY PERSON FOR SOME LEGAL GROUND the detention is legal in the beginning
because the person detained was arrested under any of the circumstances where arrest without
warrant is authorized by law.

If the detention of a person is not for some legal ground, it will be a case under Article 124, not under
Article 125.

Article 125 applies only when the arrest is made without a warrant of arrest. But the arrest must be
lawful. It does not apply when the arrest is by virtue of a warrant of arrest.

If the arrest is made with a warrant of arrest, the person arrested can be detained indefinitely until his
case is decided by the court or he posts a bail for his temporary release.

SHALL FAIL TO DELIVER SUCH PERSON TO THE PORPER JUDICIAL AUTHORIRIES what constitutes a
violation of Article 125 is the failure to deliver the person arrested to the proper judicial authority
within the period specified therein. Delivery does not consist in a physical delivery, but in making an
accusation or charge or filing of an information against the person arrested with the corresponding
court or judge.

PROPER JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES the courts of justice or judges of said courts vested with judicial
power to order the temporary detention or confinement of a person charged with having committed a
public offense, that is, the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as may be established by law.

A detained person should be release when a judge is not available, if the maximum hours for detention
provided under Article 125 have already expired.

The filing of the information to proper judicial authorities may be waived if a preliminary investigation is
asked for by the person arrested. The accused must sign a waiver of the provisions of Article 125, in the
presence of his counsel.

The illegality of detention is not cured by the filing of the information in court.

Art. 126. Delaying release. The penalties provided for in Article 124 shall be imposed upon any
public officer or employee who delays for the period of time specified therein the performance of any
judicial or executive order for the release of a prisoner or detention prisoner, or unduly delays the
service of the notice of such order to said prisoner or the proceedings upon any petition for the
liberation of such person.

ACTS PUNISHABLE UNDER ARTICLE 126

1) Delaying the performance of a judicial or executive order for the release of a prisoner
2) Unduly delaying the service of the notice of such order to said prisoner

3) Unduly delaying the proceedings upon any petition for the liberation of such person (e.g.
Habeas Corpus proceedings)

ELEMENTS

2) There is a judicial or executive order for the release of a prisoner or detention prisoner, or there
is a proceeding upon a petition for the liberation of such person
3) The offender without good reason delays: 1) the service of the notice of such order to the
prisoner; or 2) the performance of such judicial or executive order for the release of the
prisoner; or 3) the proceedings upon a petition for the release of such person

Wardens and jailers are the public officers most likely to violate Article 126.

Art. 127. Expulsion. The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon any public officer or
employee who, not being thereunto authorized by law, shall expel any person from the Philippine
Islands or shall compel such person to change his residence.


1) Expelling a person from the Philippines
2) Compelling a person to change his residence

*Right of Abode
*Right to Travel

ELEMENTS

2) He expels any person from the Philippines, or compels a person to change his residence
3) The offender is not authorized to do so by law

Only the court by a final judgment can order a person to change his residence, as illustrated in ejectment
proceedings, expropriation proceedings and in the penalty of destierro.

PENALTY

PRISION CORRECCIONAL (6 months and 1 day to 6 years)

Section Two: VIOLATION OF DOMICILE

CRIMES

1) Violation of Domicile by entering a dwelling against the will of the owner thereof or making
search without previous consent of the owner (128)

2) Search warrants maliciously obtained and abuse in the service of those legally obtained (129)
3) Searching domicile without witnesses (130)

*Right against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures

Art. 128. Violation of domicile. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be
imposed upon any public officer or employee who, not being authorized by judicial order, shall enter
any dwelling against the will of the owner thereof, search papers or other effects found therein
without the previous consent of such owner, or having surreptitiously entered said dwelling, and
being required to leave the premises, shall refuse to do so.

If the offense be committed in the night-time, or if any papers or effects not constituting evidence of a
crime be not returned immediately after the search made by the offender, the penalty shall be prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods.


1) Entering any dwelling against the will of the owner thereof
2) Searching papers or other effects found therein without the previous consent of such owner
3) Refusing to leave the premises, after having surreptitiously entered said dwelling and after
having been required to leave the same

ELEMENTS

1) Offender is a public officer or employee
2) He is not authorized by judicial order to enter the dwelling and/or to make a search therein for
papers and other effects

If the offender who enters a dwelling against the will of the owner thereof is a private individual, the
crime committed is TRESPASS TO DWELLING.

NOT BEING AUTHORIZED BY JUDICIAL ORDER there is authorization by judicial order when the
public officer is armed with a search warrant duly issued by the court.

AGAINST THE WILL OF THE OWNER entrance of the public officer must be against the will of the
owner of the dwelling, which presupposes opposition or prohibition by said owner, whether express or
implied. If owner did not give consent, yet did not oppose or prohibited the entrance, the crime is not
committed.

An officer, in order to make an arrest either by virtue of a warrant or without a warrant, may break into
any building or enclosure where the person to be arrested is or is reasonably believed to be, if he is
refused admittance thereto, after announcing his authority and purpose.

No amount of incriminating evidence, whatever its source, will supply the place of search warrant.

Article 128 is not applicable when a public officer searched a person outside his dwelling without search
warrant and such person is not legally arrested for an offense, because the papers or other effects

mentioned in Article 128 must be found in the dwelling. (Crime committed is GRAVE COERCION, if
violence or intimidation is used, otherwise, it is UNJUST VEXATION.)

HAVING SURREPTITIOUSLY ENTERED SAID DWELLING what constitutes the crime is the refusal of
the offender to leave the premises when required to do so not the entrance into the dwelling, despite
done surreptitiously.
QUALIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES

1) The offense is committed at nighttime
2) Any papers or effects not constituting evidence of a crime are not returned immediately after
the search made by the offender

PENALTY

PRISION CORRECCIONAL (6 months and 1 day to 6 years) in its minimum period
PRISION CORRECCIONAL (6 months and 1 day to 6 years) in its medium and maximum periods (if with
qualifying circumstances)

Art. 129. Search warrants maliciously obtained and abuse in the service of those legally obtained.
In addition to the liability attaching to the offender for the commission of any other offense, the
penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period and a
fine not exceeding P1,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall
procure a search warrant without just cause, or, having legally procured the same, shall exceed his
authority or use unnecessary severity in executing the same.

ACTS PUNISHABLE IN CONNECTION WITH SEARCH WARRANTS

1) Procuring a search warrant without just cause
2) Exceeding his authority or by using unnecessary severity in executing a search warrant legally
procured

ELEMENTS OF PROCURING A SEARCH WARRANT WITHOUT JUST CAUSE

2) He procures a search warrant
3) There is no just cause

SEARCH WARRANT an order in writing issued in the name of the People of the Philippines, signed by a
judge and directed to a peace officer commanding him to search for personal property described therein
and bring it before the court.

USES OF A SEARCH WARRANT

Search and seizure of the following personal property:

1) Subject of the offense
2) Stolen or embezzled and other proceeds or fruits of the offense

3) Used or intended to be used as the means of committing an offense

REQUISITES OF A SEARCH WARRANT

1) Upon probable cause
2) One specific offense
3) Probable cause determined personally by the judge
4) Particular description of the place to be searched and the things to be seized anywhere in the
Philippines

No search of a house, room, or any other premises shall be made except in the presence of the lawful
occupant thereof or any member of his family or in the absence of the latter, in the presence of two
witnesses of sufficient age and discretion residing in the same locality.

A search warrant shall be valid for ten days from its date. Thereafter, it shall be void.

The officer seizing property under the warrant must give a detailed receipt for the same to the lawful
occupant of the premises in whose presence the search and seizure were made, or in the absence of such
occupant, must, in the presence of at least two witnesses of sufficient age and discretion residing in the
same locality, leave a receipt in the place in which he found the seized property.

PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A SEARCH such facts and circumstances which would lead a reasonably
discreet and prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed and that the object sought in
connection with the offense are in the same place sought to be searched.

TEST OF LACK OF JUST CAUSE whether the affidavit filed in support of the application for search
warrant has been drawn in such a manner that perjury could be charged thereon and affiant be held
liable for damages caused.

PERJURY executing a false affidavit or making a false statement under oath

Search and seizure without search warrant of vessels and aircraft for violations of the customs laws have
been the traditional exception to the constitutional requirement of a search warrant, because the vessel
can be quickly moved out of the locality or jurisdiction in which the search warrant must be sought
before such warrant could be secured; hence, it is not practicable to require a search warrant before such
search or seizure can be constitutionally effected.

ELEMENTS OF EXCEEDING AUTHORITY OR USING UNNECESSARY SEVERITY IN EXCEUTING A SEARCH
WARRANT LEGALLY PROCURED:

2) He has legally procured a search warrant
3) He exceeds his authority or uses unnecessary severity in executing the same

PENALTY

ARRESTO MAYOR (1 month and 1 day to 6 months) in its maximum period to PRISION CORRECCIONAL (6
months and 1 day to 6 years) in its minimum period

Fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos

Art. 130. Searching domicile without witnesses. The penalty of arresto mayor in its medium and
maximum periods shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee who, in cases where a search is
proper, shall search the domicile, papers or other belongings of any person, in the absence of the
latter, any member of his family, or in their default, without the presence of two witnesses residing in
the same locality.

ELEMENTS

2) He is armed with search warrant legally procured
3) He searches the domicile, papers, or other belongings of any person
4) The owner, or any member of his family, or two witnesses residing in the same locality are not
present

In violation of domicile under Article 128, the public officer has no authority to make a search; in
searching domicile without witnesses under Article 130, the public officer has a search warrant.

SEARCH to go over or look through for the purpose of finding something; to examine

PENALTY

ARRESTO MAYOR (1 month and 1 day to 6 months) in its medium and maximum periods

Section Three: Prohibition, Interruption, and Dissolution of Peaceful Meetings

Art. 131. Prohibition, interruption and dissolution of peaceful meetings. The penalty of prision
correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who,
without legal ground, shall prohibit or interrupt the holding of a peaceful meeting, or shall dissolve
the same.

The same penalty shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee who shall hinder any person
from joining any lawful association or from attending any of its meetings.

The same penalty shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall prohibit or hinder
any person from addressing, either alone or together with others, any petition to the authorities for
the correction of abuses or redress of grievances.

ACTS PUNISHED IN CONNECTION WITH PEACEFUL MEETINGS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PETITIONS

1) Prohibiting or interrupting, without legal ground, the holding of a peaceful meeting, or
dissolving the same (Right to Peaceful Assembly)
2) Hindering any person from joining any lawful association or from attending any of its meetings
(Right to Association)

3) Prohibiting or hindering any person from addressing, either alone or together with others, any
petition to the authorities for the correction of abuses or redress of grievances

*Freedom of Speech, of Expression, or of the Press
*Right to Peaceful Assembly
*Petition the Government for Redress or Grievances

ELEMENTS

2) He performs any of the acts mentioned above

A private individual cannot commit this crime. If the offender is a private individual, the crime is
DISTURBANCE OF PUBLIC ORDER (Article 153)

To commit the crime defined in paragraph 1 of Article 131, the public officer must act without legal
ground. To constitute the violation, 1) the meeting must be peaceful, and 2) there is no legal ground for
prohibiting, or interrupting or dissolving that meeting.

The right to peaceful meeting is not absolute. The right to freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble,
though guaranteed by our Constitution, is not absolute, for it may be regulated in order that it may not
be injurious to the equal enjoyment of others having equal right, nor injurious to the right of the
community or society and this power may be exercised under the police power of the state, which is the
power to prescribe regulations and promote the good order or safety and general welfare of the people.
(Ignacio, et.al vs. Ela)

When the meeting to be held is not peaceful, there is legal ground for prohibiting it.

CASE

TITLE: Ignacio, et. al vs. Ela, 99 Phil. 347, G.R. No. L-6858, May 31, 1956

FACTS: It appears that petitioners are members of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, commonly
known as Jehovas Witnesses, whose tenets and principles are derogatory to those professed by the
Catholic organization. In its publication "FACE THE FACTS", that society branded the latter as a religious
organization which is "a part of the monstrosity now appearing in and claiming the right to rule the
earth." Desiring to hold a meeting in furtherance of its objectives, petitioners asked respondent to give
them permission to use the public plaza together with the kiosk, but, instead of granting the permission,
respondent allowed them to hold their meeting on the northwestern part corner of the plaza. He
adopted as a policy not to allow the use of the kiosk for any meeting by any religious denomination as it
is his belief that said kiosk should only be used "for legal purposes." And when their request for
reconsideration was denied, petitioners instituted the present action for mandamus. It is now
contended by petitioners that the action taken by respondent is unconstitutional being an abridgment
of the freedom of speech, assembly, and worship guaranteed by our Constitution.

ISSUE: The issue raised involves a little digression on the extent to which the right to peacefully
assemble guaranteed by the Constitution may be invoked.


HELD: "The right to freedom of speech, and to peacefully assemble and petition the government for
redress of grievances, are fundamental personal rights of the people recognized and guaranteed by the
constitutions of democratic countries. But it is a settled principle growing out of the nature of well-
ordered civil societies that the exercise of those rights is not absolute for it may be so regulated that it
shall not be injurious to the equal enjoyment of others having equal rights, nor injurious to the rights of
the community or society. The power to regulate the exercise of such and other constitutional rights is
termed the sovereign police power, which is the power to prescribe regulations, to promote the
health, morals, peace, education, good order or safety, and general welfare of the people. This
sovereign police power is exercised by the government through its legislative branch by the enactment
of laws regulating those and other constitutional and civil rights, and it may be delegated to political
subdivisions, such as towns, municipalities and cities by authorizing their legislative bodies called
municipal and city councils to enact ordinances for the purpose."

It therefore appears that the right to freedom of speech and to peacefully assemble, though guaranteed
by our Constitution, is not absolute, for it may be regulated in order that it may not be "injurious to the
equal enjoyment of others having equal rights, nor injurious to the rights of the community or society",
and this power may be exercised under the "police power" of the state, which is the power to prescribe
regulations to promote the health, peace, education, good order or safety, and general welfare of the
people.

The power exercised by respondent cannot be considered as capricious or arbitrary considering the
peculiar circumstances of the case. It appears that the public plaza, particularly the kiosk, is located at a
short distance from the Roman Catholic Church. The proximity of said church to the kiosk has caused
some concern on the part of the authorities that to avoid disturbance of peace and order, or the
happening of untoward incidents, they deemed it necessary to prohibit the use of that kiosk by any
religious denomination as a place of meeting of its members. This was the policy adopted by respondent
for some time previous to the request made by petitioners. Respondent never denied such request but
merely tried to enforce his policy by assigning them the northwestern part of the public plaza. It cannot
therefore be said that petitioners were denied their constitutional right to assemble for, as was said,
such right is subject to regulation to maintain public order and public safety. This is especially so
considering that the tenets of petitioners congregation are derogatory to those of the Roman Catholic
Church, a factor which respondent must have considered in denying their request.

The right to peaceably assemble is not absolute and may be regulated. (Navarro vs. Villegas)

CASE

TITLE: Navarro vs. Villegas, 31 SCRA 371, G.R. No. L-31687, February 26, 1970

FACTS: On February 24, 1970, the petitioner, acting in behalf of the Movement of a Democratic
Philippines, wrote a letter to the respondent, the Mayor of the city of Manila, applying to hold a rally at
Plaza Miranda February 26, 1970, from 4-11pm.On the same day, the respondent wrote a reply, denying
his request on the grounds that, they have temporarily adopted the policy of not issuing any permit for
the use of Plaza Miranda for rallies or demonstration during weekdays due to the events that happened
from the past week. On the same letter, the respondent gave the petitioner an option to use the Sunken
Garden near Intamuros for its rally, and for it to be held earlier for it to end before dark. The petitioner
filed suit contesting the Mayors action on the ground that it violates the petitioners right to peaceable

assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances (ART. 3, sec 1(8)) and of the petitioners
right to the equal protection of the law (art. 3, sec. 1).

ISSUE: Whether or not the respondents act on denying the request of the petitioner violates the
petitioners right to peaceable assembly and right to the equal protection of the law.

HELD: That respondent Mayor has not denied nor absolutely refused the permit sought by petitioner;

That as stated in Primicias v. Fugoso, 80 Phil. 75, respondent Mayor possesses reasonable discretion to
determine or specify the streets or public places to be used for the assembly in order to secure
convenient use thereof by others and provide adequate and proper policing to minimize the risks of
disorder and maintain public safety and order;

That respondent Mayor has expressly stated his willingness to grant permits for peaceful assemblies at
Plaza Miranda during Saturdays, Sundays and holidays when they would not cause unnecessarily great
disruption of the normal activities of the community and has further offered Sunken Gardens as an
alternative to Plaza Miranda as the site of the demonstration sought to be held.

That experiences in connection with present assemblies and demonstrations do not warrant the Court's
disbelieving respondent Mayor's appraisal that a public rally at Plaza Miranda, as compared to one at
the Sunken Gardens as he suggested, poses a clearer and more imminent danger of public disorders,
breaches of the peace, criminal acts, and even bloodshed as an aftermath of such assemblies, and
petitioner has manifested that it has no means of preventing such disorders;

That, consequently, every time that such assemblies are announced, the community is placed in such a
state of fear and tension that offices are closed early and employees dismissed, storefronts boarded up,
classes suspended, and transportation disrupted, to the general detriment of the public:

That civil rights and liberties can exist and be preserved only in an order society.

There is no legal ground to prohibit the holding of a meeting when the danger apprehended is not
imminent and the evil to be prevented is not a serious one.

The offender must be a stranger, not a participant, in the peaceful meeting.

Interrupting and dissolving the meeting of municipal council by a public officer is a crime against a
legislative body, not punished under Article 131. (People vs. Alipit, et.al.)

CASE

TITLE: People vs. Alipit, 44 Phil. 910, G.R. No. L-18853, August 22, 1922

FACTS: That on or about the 30th of May, 1920, in the municipality of Cabuyao, Province of Laguna,
Philippine Islands, the defendants Exequiel Alipit and Victorio D. Alemus, being the municipal president
and the chief of police respectively of the said municipality of Cabuyao, did willfully, unlawfully,
maliciously and acting under a previous agreement and conspiracy entered into between themselves
and assisting and cooperating with each other, after the accused Exequiel Alipit had fired his revolver in
the air, enter the session room of the municipality building of Cabuyao wherein the municipal council of

Cabuyao was holding a meeting presided over by the vice-president, Manuel Basa, and once in said
room, the aforesaid accused Exequiel Alipit and Victorio D. Alemus, abusing their authority as municipal
president and chief of police respectively, the former with a revolver in his hand, and both using
violence and intimidation not only upon the person of said vice-president Manuel Basa, but also upon
those of the councilors present at the aforesaid meeting, and without any justifiable motive or legal
authority and by means of force, arrested said vice-president Manuel Basa and compelled him to submit
himself to the arrest against the latter's will and over his protest and that of each and every one of the
councilors and took him to the jail of the municipal building of Cabuyao, the accused Victorio D. Alemus
taking at the same time possession of all the papers concerning the meeting that was being held by the
municipal council of Cabuyao, by which acts the defendants succeeded in interrupting and dissolving the
aforesaid meeting.

ISSUE: The question is whether or not that meeting of the council in which there was a quorum of the
absence or inability of the municipal president on account of the absence or inability of the municipal
president (or of both causes) was a meeting the disturbance and interruption of which should be
punished.

HELD: Nobody has the right to dissolve, through violence, the meeting of a council under the present of
the existence of such a legal defect which was not apparent, but required an investigation before it
could be determined. Any stranger, even if he be the municipal president himself or the chief of the
municipal police, must respect the meeting of the municipal council which for the time being, at least,
raises the presumption that no defect exists to render it illegal. That meeting of the municipal council
was entitled to this respect on the part of the defendants and the aforesaid presumption was effective
as to them.

We are of the opinion that the law violated by the accused is Act No. 1755, which in its section 1, says:

Any person who willfully or by force or fraud prevent or attempts to prevent the meeting of the
Philippine Commission or the organizing or meeting of the Philippine Assembly or of any Insular
legislative body of the Philippine Islands hereafter established, or the meeting or organizing of any
provincial board or municipal or township council, and any person who willfully disturbs the Philippine
Commission or the Philippine Assembly, or in Insular legislative body of the Philippine Islands hereafter
established, or any provincial board or municipal or township council, while in session, or who is guilty of
any disorderly conduct in the immediate view or presence of any such body tending to interrupt the
proceedings of such body or to impair the respect due to its authority, shall be punished by a fine of not
more than two thousand pesos or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or by both, in the
discretion of the court.

And in view of the allegations contained in the information herein, the accused may, and must, be
convicted of a violation of said section 1 of this Act and punished accordingly.

Stopping the speaker who was attacking certain churches in public meeting is a violation of Article 131.
(People vs. Reyes, et.al)

CASE

TITLE: People vs. Reyes, et.al., C.A.-G.R. No. 13633-R, July 27, 1955


The Chief of Police who ordered the speaker in a public meeting of the Iglesia ni Cristo, then attacking
the Catholic and Aglipayan churches, to stop and fired two shots in the air which dispersed the crowd
and stopped the meeting, is liable under Article 131.

PENALTY


Section Four: Crimes against Religious Worship

CRIMES

1) Interruption of religious worship (132)
2) Offending the religious feelings (133)

*Free Exercise and Enjoyment of Religious Profession and Worship

Art. 132. Interruption of religious worship. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum
period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the
ceremonies or manifestations of any religion.

If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the penalty shall be prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods.

ELEMENTS

2) Religious ceremonies or manifestations of any religion are about to take place or are going on
3) The offender prevents or disturbs the same

QUALIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES

- If committed with violence or threats

Reading of Bible and then attacking certain churches in a public plaza is not a ceremony or manifestation
of a religion, but only a meeting of a religious sect. (People vs. Reyes, et.al)

CASE

TITLE: People vs. Reyes, et.al., C.A.-G.R. No. 13633-R, July 27, 1955

FACTS: The Iglesia ni Cristo held a meeting at a public plaza after securing a permit to do so from the
mayor. The meeting started with some singing, after which the minister of the sect read from the Bible
and then delivered a sermon, in the course of which he attacked the catholic and Aglipayan churches.
The Chief of Police ordered his policemen to stop the minister. When the minister refused, the Chief of
Police fired two shots in the air which dispersed the crowd and stopped the meeting.


ISSUE: Whether or not the Chief of Police is liable under Article 132 of the Revised Penal Code

HELD: The act of the Chief of Police is not a violation of Article 132, but of Article 131.

PENALTY

PRISION CORRECCIONAL (6 months and 1 day to 6 years) in its medium and maximum periods (if with
qualifying circumstances)

Art. 133. Offending the religious feelings. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to
prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to
religious worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform acts notoriously
offensive to the feelings of the faithful.

ELEMENTS

1) The acts complained of were performed 1) in a place devoted to religious worship, or 2) during
the celebration of any religious ceremony
2) The acts must be notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful

RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES those religious acts performed outside of a church, such as processions and
special prayers for burying dead persons.

CASE

TITLE: People vs. Mandoriao, Jr., C.A., 51 O.G. 4619

When the application of the Church of Christ was to hold the meeting at a public place and the permit
expressly stated that the purpose was to hold a prayer rally, what was held on that occasion was not a
religious ceremony, even if a minister was then preaching (that Jesus Christ was not God but only a
man). The rally was attended by persons who are not members of the sect.


FACTS: The Iglesia ni Cristo held a religious rally at a public place in Baguio. About 200 people attended
the meeting; about 50 of who were members of the Iglesia ni Cristo but the rest were outsiders and
curious listeners. While Salvio, a minister of Iglesia ni Cristo, was expounding on his topic to the effect
that Christ is not God, but only man, the crowd became unruly. Some people urged Mandoriao to go up
the stage and have a debate with Salvio. Mandoriao however, was not able to speak before the
microphone because the wire connecting it was abruptly disconnected.

ISSUE: Whether or not the meeting was a religious ceremony.

HELD: The meeting here was not a religious ceremony. A religious meeting is an assemblage of people
met for the purpose of performing acts of adoration to the Supreme Being, or to perform religious
services in recognition of God as an object of worship The meeting here was not limited to the

members of the Iglesia ni Cristo. The supposed prayers and singing of hymns were merely incidental
because the principal object of the rally was to persuade new converts to their religion. Assuming that
the rally was a religious ceremony, the appellant cannot be said to have performed acts or uttered
words offensive to the feelings of the faithful. The act complained of must be directed against a dogma
or ritual, or upon an object of veneration. There was no object of veneration at the meeting.

ACTS NOTORIOUSLY OFFENSIVE TO THE FEELINGS OF THE FAITHFUL the acts must be directed
against religious practice or dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule, as mocking or scoffing at or
attempting to damage an object of religious veneration. (People vs. Baes)

Offense to feelings is judged from complainants point of view. (People vs. Baes)

CASE

TITLE: People vs. Baes, 68 Phil. 203, G.R. No. L-46000, May 25, 1939

FACTS: That on April 14, 1937, at about 9 o'clock a.m., in this municipality of Lumban, Province of
Laguna, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this court, the aforesaid accused, while holding the
funeral of one who in life was called Antonio Macabigtas, in accordance with the rites of religious sect
known as the "Church of Christ", willfully, unlawfully, and criminally caused the funeral to pass, as it in
fact passed, through the churchyard fronting the Roman Catholic Church, which churchyard belongs to
the said Church, which churchyard belongs to the said Church and is devoted to the religious worship
thereof, against the opposition of the undersigned complainant who, through force and threats of
physical violence by the accused, was compelled to allow the funeral to pass through the said
churchyard. An act committed in grave profanation of the place, in open disregard of the religious
feelings of the Catholics of this municipality, and in violation of article 133 of the Revised Penal Code.

ISSUE: Whether or not the acts complained of constitute the crime defined and penalized by article 133
of the Revised Penal Code

HELD: Whether or of the act complained of is offensive to the religious feelings of the Catholics, is a
question of fact which must be judged only according to the feelings of the Catholics and not those of
other faithful ones, for it is possible that certain acts may offend the feelings of those who profess a
certain religion, while not otherwise offensive to the feelings of those professing another faith. We,
therefore, take the view that the facts alleged in the complaint constitute the offense defined and
penalized in article 133 of the Revised Penal Code, and should the fiscal file an information alleging the
said facts and a trial be thereafter held at which the said facts should be conclusively established, the
court may find the accused guilty of the offense complained of, or that of coercion, or that of trespass
under article 281 of the Revised Penal Code, as may be proper, pursuant to section 29 of General
Orders, No. 58. "An act is said to be notoriously offensive to the religious feelings of the faithful when a
person ridicules or makes light of anything constituting a religious dogma; works or scoffs at anything
devoted to religious ceremonies; plays with or damages or destroys any object of veneration by the
faithful."

CASE



Remarks that those who believed that Christ is God are anti-Christ, that all the members of the Roman
Catholic Church are marked by the demon, and that the Pope is the Commander of Satan are
notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.

PENALTY

ARRESTO MAYOR (1 month and 1 day to 6 months) in its maximum period to PRISION CORRECCIONAL (6
months and 1 day to 6 years) in its minimum period

TITLE 2: Article 124-133: Criminal Law II Review Notes - Revised Penal Code

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TITLE 2: Article 124-133: Criminal Law II Review Notes - Revised Penal Code

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CRIMINAL LAW II (Article 124-133) Reyes, 2012, Arellano University School of Law aiza ebina/2014

TITLE TWO: CRIMES AGAINST THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF THE STATE

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